Power's Still Out For Many Across North And Into Canada

In Delton, Mich., broken branches and snapped limbs lie on the ground after this week's snow and ice storms. Many in the state are without power.

Chuck Miller
/ MLive.com/Landov

This may make you shiver:

"It could be days before power is restored to swathes of the country after a ice storms plunged homes and businesses from Michigan to Maine and into Canada into darkness, utility officials say." (NBC News)

Susan Sharon of Maine Public radio tells our Newscast Desk that "more than 25,000 Maine residents remain in the dark, six days after an ice storm brought down tree limbs and power lines. ... It could be next Wednesday before some customers see their lights back on."

The Associated Press says that in Michigan, "nearly 600,000 homes and businesses lost power [this week], and as of Friday morning, about 64,000 customers remained in the dark."

In between those states, thousands of more people in Canada, the Northeast U.S. and New England are also still suffering. The CBC says that:

"With thousands of Toronto residents now in their sixth day without heat and electricity in freezing temperatures, some say they're reaching the breaking point. Despite this, many will likely not have power restored for at least a few more days. ... The storm knocked out power to more than 250,000 customers. As of Friday morning, Toronto Hydro reported that 32,400 customers are still without power while crews work around the clock to repair damaged lines."

This week's bad weather, the AP adds, "has been blamed for 17 deaths in the U.S. and 10 in Canada. Five people apparently died from carbon monoxide poisoning tied to using generators." A chain collision accident in eastern Pennsylvania on Thursday shut down part of Interstate-78 for hours and left dozens of people injured.